Vietnam’s public debt by the end of 2018 reached below 61% of GDP, down 0.3% percentage points from 2017 and under the limit of 65% set by the National Assembly, according to Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung.

This is the second year in a row the country's public debt as per GDP has declined, mainly thanks to faster-than-expected GDP growth and a cut in regular expenditures.

Data: General Statistics Office. Graphic: Nguyen Tung.

Additionally, government debt down to below 52% of GDP and foreign debt 49.7% of GDP, which are all within the limits set by the National Assembly, Dung said at a conference on January 9.

In 2018, state budget revenue was reported at VND1,422 trillion (US$61.81 billion), up 7.8% compared to the initial plan, in which central level budget revenue exceeded 4.3% of the estimate and provincial-level budget 12.5%.

According to Dung, there has been greater efficiency in state budget spending, in which expenditure for development investment stood at over 27% of the total expenditure, higher than the 25% rate in 2017.

The National Assembly set target for public debt at 61.3% of the GDP by the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, fiscal deficit in 2018 stood at below 3.6% of the GDP, lower than the estimate of 3.7% GDP.

As of the final trading session in 2018 on December 28, 2018, Vietnam’s stock market capitalization reached VND3,900 trillion (US$169.46 billion), up 12.7% against 2017 and equivalent to 72% GDP in 2018, meeting the target of 70% of GDP set for 2020.

Last year, the government approved the divestment scheme for 15 out of 85 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), while other 21 state-run companies carried out initial public offerings.

The divestment process of SOEs raised a combined nearly VND40 trillion (US$1.73 billion) for state budget.